Pepper mill



Svept. 17, 1946. E. L.. BlvANs 2,407,808

PEPPER MILL Filed Jan. 22, 1945 ELBERT LJTTON BIVANS IN VEN TOR.

ATroRNeY Patented sept. 17, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PEPPER MILL Elbert Litton Bivans, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application January 22, 1945, Serial No. 573,835

1 Claim. 1

The invention relates to a pepper mill and more particularly to grinding apparatus suitable for grinding peppercorns.

An object of the invention is to provide a construction making it possible to construct the grinding elements of sheet metal and in particular to provide the sheet metalY elements with not only primary grinding surfaces, but also preliminary crushing means in order to increase the amount of material which may be ground for a given angular rotation of the rotary grinding element.

Other objects of the invention are to provide means for adjusting the neness of the grind and to prevent the rotary grinding element from falling out of its casing when the cover is removed to refill the casing.

For further details of the invention reference may be made to the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a pepper mill according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of the mill of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan View of the outer grinding element, the inner rotary element being removed, looking in the direction of the arrows on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View through the outer grinding element of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan view looking down on the inner grinding element.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the inner grinding element of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the pepper mill I of this invention comprises a casing 2 which may be of wood or other material, and provided with a depression or hand-hold 3 so that it may be held in the hand. The casing 2 is provided with a central bore 4 to receive the peppercorns or the like t be ground. In the bottom of the bore 4 is arranged outer and inner grinding elements and 6 which are inverted cup-shaped sheet metal stampings, one fitting within the other. The outer element 5 has an end wall 'I provided with a bearing bore 8 to rotatably receive a shaft 9 which is riveted or otherwise secured to the end wall I0 of the inner element 6. The end wall 'l of the outer element 5 at each side of the bearing bore 8 is provided with a plurality of apertures II and I2 through which the peppercorns may pass to be ground. The innermost portion I3 of the side wall of the outer element 5 is cylindrical and fits in the bore 4. The cylin- .drical portion I3 merges with an outwardly flaring conical portion I4 provided on its outer surface with ridges I5 which serve as grinding ele ments and which lie substantialh7 on the surface of a cone where the conical wall I4 merges With an outwardly flaring flat rim I6, through which nails or other fastening means Il and IB are driven to secure the rim or fiange I6 in a recess I9 in the bottom of the casing 2.

The inner element 6 has a side wall, the innermost portion 29 of which is cylindrical but eccentric to the aXs of shaft I9. The eccentric wall 20 merges with an outwardly-flaring conical portion 2| provided on its outer surface with cooperating grinding ridges 22 shown in Fig. 6, which lie on the surface of a cone coaxial or concentric with the shaft 9.

Struck out from the inside of the cylindrical wall I3 of the outer element I5 is a pair of inclined ridges 23 and 24, shown in Figs. 3 and 4, which lie opposite the eccentric portion 2l] of the inner element, and cooperate therewith to effect preliminary crushing of the peppercorns. The inclined ridges 23 and 24 also serve to guide the peppercorns to the grinding teeth I5 and 22, assuming that the inner element is rotated in a clockwise direction. Also, the ridges 22 are substantially longer than the ridges I5, whereby the inner ends 25 of the ridges 22 extend opposite the outer inner end of the cylindrical portion I3 and provide a tapered space 26 in which preliminary crushing is effected.

The upper end of the shaft 9 is provided with a non-circular portion 2l which slidingly fits in a mating, non-circular aperture 28 in a washer 29 secured as by nails 30 to the underside of a rotary cover 3l having a flat portion 32 which ts on the upper end of casing 2 and having a cylindrical extension 33 which ts in the upper end of the bore 4.

The outer end of rotary cover 3l is provided with a circular recess 34 in which is rotatably fitted a handle or knob 35 in which is secured a nut 36 threaded on the outer threaded end 3l of the shaft 9. By rotating the knob 35 in one direction or the other, the shaft 9 may be raised or lowered to vary the separation of the grinding surface I5 from its cooperating grinding surface 22, to vary the neness of grind.

In order t0 fill the bore 4 with peppercorns, the knob 35 may be unscrewed from shaft 9 and the knob 35 and cover 3| removed from that shaft. To prevent the shaft 9 and the inner grindingelement 6 from falling out of the bearing bore 8, above this bore is arranged a spring 3 lock ring 38 arranged in a groove 39 in the shaft 9.

-Various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit of the following claim.

I claim:

Grinding apparatus comprising sheet metal inverted cup-shaped inner and outer grinding elements, one within the other, said outer grinding element having an end Wall having a bearing aperture centrally thereof and feed apertures on opposite sides of said bearing aperture, said outer member having a side wall the innermost; portion of which is provided on its inside with inclined ridges and the outermost portion of which is provided on its interior with a comparatively short conical grinding surface concentric with said bearing aperture, a shaft rotatably supported in saidnbearing aperture in said outer elementV and secured to said inner element, said inner element having an eccentric side Wall opposite said ridges and on its outer surface having a comparatively long conical `grinding Vsurface concentric with said shaft, the inner end of said grinding surface on said inner element projecting inwardly beyond the inner end of the grinding surface on said Outer element whereby preliminary crushing is effected between said eccentric portion of said inner element and said ridges on said outer element and also between the side wall of said outer element and the inner end of the grinding surface of said inner element.

- ELBERT LITTON BIVANS. 

